Device carts are used within medical facilities for holding objects, such as medical instruments and devices while the objects are cleaned or disinfected in a washer or sterilizer. The device cart often includes several shelves for holding the objects thereon. During use, a plurality of objects is placed on the device cart and the device cart is inserted into a chamber of the washer or sterilizer. After the objects have been cleaned or disinfected, the device cart is removed from the chamber. In some instances, the device cart serves as an apparatus for conveniently transporting the objects throughout the facility.
Conventionally, transfer carriages are used to transport the device carts within the facility. In some instances, removing the device cart from the washer or sterilizer requires that the user lift the device cart and place it on the transfer carriage. Some device carts are designed to roll onto the transfer carriage from the washer or sterilizer. However, such designs often require the user to reach into the chamber and pull the cart out of the chamber. Such a motion by the user tends to stress the back of the user, thereby increasing the likelihood that the user will be injured. When loading the device cart into the chamber, the user often must stand next to the transfer carriage and use their arms to push the device cart into the washer or sterilizer. Such a motion tends to further increase the stress on the back and arms of the user, particular in instances wherein the device cart is fully loaded with objects. The aforementioned stresses on the user increase significantly as the device carts increase in size and weight.
When the transfer carriage is not in use, the transfer carriage must be stored. However, conventional transfer carriages are long and bulky and tend to require an excessive amount of floor space. The medical facility usually has limited floor space, thereby making the storage of multiple transfer carriages problematic. The foregoing issue becomes even more problematic as transfer carriages become larger to accommodate larger device carts.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems and provides a space-saving apparatus for inserting/removing a device cart into/from a chamber.